Product Description

The Franklin expedition was not alone in suffering early and unexplained deaths. Indeed, both Back (1837) and Ross (1849) suffered early onset of unaccountable 'debility' aboard ship and Ross suffered greater fatalities during his single winter in the Arctic than did Franklin during his first. Both expeditions were forced to retreat because of the rapacious illness that stalked their ships. "Frozen in Time" makes the case that this illness (starting with the Back expedition) was due to the crews' overwhelming reliance on a new technology, namely tinned foods. This not only exposed the seamen to lead, an insidious poison as has been demonstrated in Franklin's case by Dr. Beattie's research but it also left them vulnerable to scurvy, the ancient scourge of seafarers which had been thought to have been largely cured in the early years of the nineteenth century.Fully revised, "Frozen in Time" will update the research outlined in the original edition, and will introduce independent confirmation of Dr. Beattie's lead hypothesis, along with corroboration of his discovery of physical evidence for both scurvy and cannibalism. In addition, the book includes a new introduction written by Margaret Atwood, who has long been fascinated by the role of the Franklin Expedition in Canada's literary conscience, and has made a pilgrimage to the site of the Franklin Expedition graves on Beechey Island.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8298 in Books
• Published on: 2004-11-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Review
'A remarkable piece of forensic deduction' Margaret Atwood 'Simply compelling' Mordecai Richler 'A cautionary tale of scholarly merit' William S. Borroughs 'Galvanizing in one stroke it elicited a new flurry of Franklin mania in documentary film, childrens' books, adult non-fiction, fiction, painting, and newspaper accounts around the world' Sherrill E. Grace, author of Canada and the Idea of the North

Sir John Franklin's failed arctic expedition has become the archetypal survival horror story: in 1847 two of the most technologically-advanced and well-equipped ships of their day sailed into the polar wilderness in search of the North Passage. They were never seen again, leaving a trail of scattered graves and suggestions by the native Induits that the crew had resorted to cannibalism. It was only in 1981 that a group of scientists were able to identify why the mission went so wrong, through the discovery of three startlingly well-preserved bodies. This modern classic of forensic anthropology (a historical 'howdunnit') is so pleasurable thanks to its recounting of the scientists' own expedition. They outline the tools and techniques by which they came to their hypothesis in language plain enough for the most casual novice, alongside gory photographs, maps and Victorian artwork. A new foreword by Margaret Atwood attests the cultural influence of the book since its original publication in 1987. (Kirkus UK)

Chicago Tribune
‘Chilling … will keep you up nights turning pages’

From the Publisher
Includes an introduction by award-winning writer Margaret Atwood

Customer Reviews

Franklin fate finally revealed
Tells the story of the 1845 Franklin expedition in which all 128 men were lost without trace while trying to navigate a course through the North-West Passage. The book tells also of the numerous rescue missions which were launched at the behest of Lady Franklin, which failed to find any trace. Their fate was finally discovered by the great Orcadian explorer Robert Rae, and among his reports was how they had resorted to canibalism. The idea that Victorian gentlemen might behave in such a matter was unnacceptable, and Rae's reputation was rubbished by Charles Dickens among others. And so Rae, who should have been recorded as one of the great innovators of Britich Arctic exploration was sidelined and ignored. It is entirely likely that if his innovations (mostly realisng that "going native" was the best approach) had been widely realised then Britain would have been first to both Poles.

In the first part of "Frozen in Time" the authors document the history of the pursuit of the North West Passage, overview the debilitating effects of arctic exploration and also provide a detailed treatise of the fateful Franklin expedition. The second part of the book covers modern attempts to unravel the fate of franklin. Culminating in the exhumations and autopsies of the perfectly preserved bodies of John Torrington, John Hartnell and William, which finally answers the mystery.

This book is not the most fluent of reads, but is sufficiently well written to ensure that it should appeal both to those who are passionate about arctic history and those with a more passing interest.

History brought up to Date
The people involved in seeking out and attempting to complete the North West Passage have a truly amazing tale to tell. The first part of this book does that extremely well -- covering many of the other expeditions of 1800s to put the Franklin Expedition into context. It is unraveling the fate of this expedition that is the aim of this book.

Against these tales of exceptional daring, fortitude hardship and endurance, the second half of the book seems a bit tame. It covers the expeditions to discover, exhume and conduct post-mortems on the only known human remains from the expedition. The science and conclusions reached are very interesting although (given modern technology)it all went rather smoothly and attemtps to create tension largely fell flat with me.

Net -- full of fascinating insights

A Horribly British Way To Die
In 1845 Sir John Franklin and 128 men aboard the vessels Erebus and Terror set sail to navigate a course through the fabled (and unbeknownst to them, utterly useless) North-West Passage. After stopping briefly at Greenland they disappeared literally off the map. The years passed and as concern grew several rescue missions were launched at the urging of Lady Franklin. Gradually macabre details began to filter back. One of the first discoveries was of three gravestones of Franklin crewmen in the permafrost of the tiny Beechey Island, then further south on King William island more relics were unearthed including a note in a cairn detailing Franklin's death in 1847. Gruesome accounts from local Inuit tribes described shambling groups of insane gibbering white men, in some cases resorting to cannibalism in a desperate and futile attempt to survive.

Frozen in Time is a book of two halves. In the first part the authors describe the history of the search for the North West Passage, mention the debilitating effects of polar exploration and also provide an account of the doomed Franklin expedition. The second part of the book is essentially CSI North West Territories. King William island is searched first but reveals only some fragmented skeletons and a few small artefacts. The human remains provide tantalising but inconclusive information. The researchers then decide to exhume the three graves on Beechey Island.

This book has stayed with me ever since I first read it. Few other books have fired up my imagination to the same extent. The descriptions of the exhumations and then the autopsies of the perfectly preserved bodies of John Torrington, John Hartnell and William Braine are absolutely gripping and the resulting conclusions are as horrific as they are fascinating. This has been said before but I'll say it again, I envy anybody who has yet to read this book. I would also urge any readers to resist the temptation to look ahead at the pictures; they are all the more shocking in the context of the appropriate passages. Buy it now.